NAN-AE-7
Support
By Maureen Okon
Abuja, Oct. 25, 2016 (NAN) Michel Arrion, EU Ambassador to Nigeria and ECOWAS, on Tuesday, sought the support of ECOWAS member states in an effort to combat the scourge of climate change in the region.
Arrion made the call at the Public Policy Forum with the theme: ‘Desertification and Deforestation’ in Abuja.
The envoy, who spoke with particular reference to Nigerian, said that the country’s climate change was that of desertification and deforestation mostly in the Northern and Southern part.
“Nigeria’s climate change is desertification in the north and deforestation in the south; I see people talking about an annual forest lost in the south may be of three per cent in Nigeria.
“It is a call for us to reduce the activities of gas emission, create innovation, bring more investment and I think a call for us to ending the subsidy on fuel.
“By using the money more wisely, and also a call for renewable and greater energy efficiency,’’ he said.
He expressed EU’s commitment to support the country in combating the scourge of climate change through programmes in the energy sector, looking at the policy issues and energy efficiency.
He also stressed the need to look at the global electrification in some states and across the country.
“We have something known as the African investment facility, where we try to blend resources in order to mobilise investment in difficult environments.
“ We are also working with the Ministry of Environment on the monitoring, reporting and verification of CO2 emission to enable us tract what is happening in emission,’’ Arrion said. (NAN)
ETIM/EAL/AFA
Edited by Ekemini Ladejobi/Felix Ajide
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